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Effect of Nutrient Removal and Resource Recovery on Life Cycle Cost and Environmental Impacts of a Small Scale Water Resource Recovery Facility

Author

Listed:
  • Ben Morelli

    (Eastern Research Group, 110 Hartwell Ave., Lexington, MA 02421, USA)

  • Sarah Cashman

    (Eastern Research Group, 110 Hartwell Ave., Lexington, MA 02421, USA)

  • Xin (Cissy) Ma

    (United States Environmental Protection Agency, National Risk Management Research Laboratory, 26 West Martin Luther King Drive, Cincinnati, OH 45268, USA)

  • Jay Garland

    (United States Environmental Protection Agency, National Exposure Research Laboratory, 26 West Martin Luther King Drive, Cincinnati, OH 45268, USA)

  • Jason Turgeon

    (United States Environmental Protection Agency, Region 1, 5 Post Office Square, Suite 100, OEP 5-2, Boston, MA 02109, USA)

  • Lauren Fillmore

    (Water Research Foundation, 1199 N Fairfax Street, Suite 900, Alexandria, VA 22314, USA)

  • Diana Bless

    (United States Environmental Protection Agency, National Risk Management Research Laboratory, 26 West Martin Luther King Drive, Cincinnati, OH 45268, USA)

  • Michael Nye

    (United States Environmental Protection Agency, National Exposure Research Laboratory, 26 West Martin Luther King Drive, Cincinnati, OH 45268, USA)

Abstract

To limit effluent impacts on eutrophication in receiving waterbodies, a small community water resource recovery facility (WRRF) upgraded its conventional activated sludge treatment process for biological nutrient removal, and considered enhanced primary settling and anaerobic digestion (AD) with co-digestion of high strength organic waste (HSOW). The community initiated the resource recovery hub concept with the intention of converting an energy-consuming wastewater treatment plant into a facility that generates energy and nutrients and reuses water. We applied life cycle assessment and life cycle cost assessment to evaluate the net impact of the potential conversion. The upgraded WRRF reduced eutrophication impacts by 40% compared to the legacy system. Other environmental impacts such as global climate change potential (GCCP) and cumulative energy demand (CED) were strongly affected by AD and composting assumptions. The scenario analysis showed that HSOW co-digestion with energy recovery can lead to reductions in GCCP and CED of 7% and 108%, respectively, for the upgraded WRRF (high feedstock-base AD performance scenarios) relative to the legacy system. The cost analysis showed that using the full digester capacity and achieving high digester performance can reduce the life cycle cost of WRRF upgrades by 15% over a 30-year period.

Suggested Citation

  • Ben Morelli & Sarah Cashman & Xin (Cissy) Ma & Jay Garland & Jason Turgeon & Lauren Fillmore & Diana Bless & Michael Nye, 2018. "Effect of Nutrient Removal and Resource Recovery on Life Cycle Cost and Environmental Impacts of a Small Scale Water Resource Recovery Facility," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(10), pages 1-19, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:10:y:2018:i:10:p:3546-:d:173513
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Jane C. Bare, 2002. "Traci: The Tool for the Reduction and Assessment of Chemical and Other Environmental Impacts," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 6(3‐4), pages 49-78, July.
    2. Xin (Cissy) Ma & Xiaobo Xue & Alejandra González-Mejía & Jay Garland & Jennifer Cashdollar, 2015. "Sustainable Water Systems for the City of Tomorrow—A Conceptual Framework," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 7(9), pages 1-35, September.
    3. Markus Berger & Matthias Finkbeiner, 2010. "Water Footprinting: How to Address Water Use in Life Cycle Assessment?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 2(4), pages 1-26, April.
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    Cited by:

    1. Jake A. K. Elliott & Andrew S. Ball, 2021. "Selection of Industrial Trade Waste Resource Recovery Technologies—A Systematic Review," Resources, MDPI, vol. 10(4), pages 1-22, March.
    2. Rosalie van Zelm & Raquel de Paiva Seroa da Motta & Wan Yee Lam & Wilbert Menkveld & Eddie Broeders, 2020. "Life cycle assessment of side stream removal and recovery of nitrogen from wastewater treatment plants," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 24(4), pages 913-922, August.

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